Why do People Kill Houses in San Diego or Insert Your Town Here?

I had to read what you meant by "murder houses."  Glad to know you weren't talking about houses where murders took place. 

Michael, the simple answer here is that they can. It's not a crime for a homeowner to abandon their house and leave it in disarray. It's not a crime for a homeowner to stop paying mortgage for two years and buy flat screen televisions for every room and have a hummer parked outside their front door. It's indifference without tangible consequence from the law or from moral/spiritual beliefs. What exactly am I looking at in the picture? A shed I hope! I haven't been to San Diego, but property damage happens on the East Coast in my neck of the woods often.

Since the banks are now providing incentive money to not destroy the home, I have been seeing less of this crime.  This is one area that I do think that there should be a law passed stating something like making it illegal to destroy your home until you own it free and clear.  Otherwise, you are definitely going to jail for 1 to 5 years.